The Goddess of Time Returns
by Gilbest09
Summary: Rose Tyler, who has spent her life with Tentoo in Pete's World, finds her way back to her home universe. The Doctor finds that he knows much less about her and the universe than he thought he did. Ten/Rose, Reunion fic. Torchwood References at the beginning.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: BBC's Doctor Who and Torchwood inspired this story. They own all recognizable characters. No profit is made from this story._

_I've never written fanfiction before, but this story has been sticking in my mind for a while now and its far from time to get it written down!_

**Cardiff Torchwood: May 1, 2013**

"Gwen." Captain Jack Harkness's voice pulled Gwen Cooper out of her deep focus, but she still looked up at him dazed and confused. "Gwen, what is it?"

She looked down at the notepad on her desk next to her computer. Numbers and names filled the page. Jack approached her and picked up the pad. "What are these?"

"Oh, uhm, just dates. The names are that of this… entity that seems to be recurring. It seems to be called different things at different times, but I believe it's all the same." She stood up from her desk and moved around Jack to share his view of the notepad. "See here, her appearance-"

"Her?"

"She seems to consistently appear feminine throughout time. As I was saying, her appearances date back to ancient times. The Egyptians called her the Swift. Legend says that she came when there was a great flood draught. The water level of Nile substantially dropped. The Egyptians were starving and they called upon their gods; instead she came. She pulled the water from the ground and left. She appeared once in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Planted a single rose and left. The Greeks called her the Wayward Siren; they say she hummed softly and allowed for a ship of Greek sailors to return home safely in a storm. The stories span cultures and history. She never stays long."

"What brought this on?"

"I… I've been seeing her."

"Gwen-"

"No, listen. I hadn't said anything because I wasn't sure it was real. I could've been imagining it. But at nights I see her, all gold and bathed in light. She tells me dates and places. Places and times she's been before. I think she needs our help."

"Gwen, you must not continue communicating with it until we know what this is. It may be dangerous."

"She's gone immediately afterwards. I never speak to her."

"All these times it's appeared, surly someone has a depiction of it."

"Yeah, there have been crude drawings in the past, even depictions in classical art. I think the clearest, most accurate picture of her is the one from the fall of the Berlin Wall."

"It was there?"

Gwen sat back down and began to open files on her computer. "I have several images saved. Take a look for yourself."

Gwen clicked a file and up came a picture from the fall of the Berlin wall. "That's her there," Gwen pointed to a young woman in the background who was on her knees hugging a child. The side of her face was framed with dark blonde hair, her eyes were shut and her smile was wide across her face.

Jack stiffened. There was no mistaking who that was. "No, you're wrong. I know who that girl is. She's a time traveler. She's gone now."

"No, Jack, she's not. This is the same woman I've been seeing."

Jack grabbed Gwen by the shoulders, "You're wrong!"

"Jack, who is she?"  
Jack didn't answer. He took the computer mouse and began opening clicking through files. Depictions of the girl throughout time remained the same. Her hair was a darker, more natural shade of blonde than he remembered, her eyes were golden instead of the brown they used to be, and she didn't look a day older than he remembered her. Despite the changes, there was still no denying who the girl was.

"Jack. Do you recognize her? Have you seen her before?"

"Yeah," he replied breathlessly, "yeah I have. As I said she was a time traveler. But she's different now. The same… but somehow different."

"She doesn't seem as… solid as she does in the pictures when she comes to me. She's faded, like a weak projection. I told you, I think she needs help."  
"All these pictures then, they haven't happened yet. They couldn't have happened yet. Look at her eyes; those aren't her eyes. And he's not with her." Jack's eyes were glued to the screen, not allowing himself to look away, as if the picture itself may disappear.

"What do you mean, they haven't happened yet. Sure they have, that's how we have records of it!"

"No! Don't you get it? This is in the future of her timeline, but in the past of ours. For her, it hasn't happened yet. It couldn't have."

"Then how did she know what dates to give me?"  
Jack's head snapped up and looked at Gwen intently, "I don't know, but she did. I keep learning that the word 'impossible' has no meaning when it comes to her."

"You still haven't told me who she is."

"Rose. Her name is Rose Tyler."

"I recognize that name, she died at Canary Wharf I thought."

"No, no she got trapped in a parallel world. She found her way back though, only to be left there again by the Doctor."

"Why did he leave her there?"

"It's a long story, but he wanted to give her a life that he would never be able to give her in this world. He really was trying to do good by her. But now it looks like she's found a way back, or is trying to at least."

"Why me? Why is reaching out to me?"

"I don't know, we will have to ask her when we find her. Gwen, is there a date here that's out of the ordinary? I don't know what we are looking for, but she has to have given you something. She's brilliant. She would give you something to work with."

Jack grabbed the notepad and began searching through the dates and names Gwen had written down. Suddenly a big grin spread across his face, he let out a whoop and grabbed Gwen. "She found a way back! Rose is coming home! Bad Wolf did it! 1439, Tenochtitlan! The only place they referred her to as 'Bad Wolf'! That's where it happens! She gets back, Gwen!"

His energy radiated off of him and onto Gwen. She soon found herself giddy for him, but still one thing was pressing at her mind, "But how does she get through? She seemed week. How do we make sure it happens?"

Jack stiffened once more, "I don't know, but it must. It must happen. Bad Wolf was something Rose created to make sure that she finds the Doctor. He needs to go to 1439."

Jack raced to his office and grabbed the phone. Following his most recent encounter with the Doctor, he made sure to exchange contact information should he ever need to be in touch. Swiftly, Jack punched numbers into the phone and waited breathlessly for it to ring.

**Caralynit'o, 1920138917981**

The Doctor slammed the TARDIS doors behind him as he ran into the console room. "Right then, ol' girl, remind me never to a planet whose doctors decided to "enhance" the population's children without their consent. The name 'doctor' doesn't really seem to float well with them."

The Doctor moved around the console and began to bring the TARDIS into the Time Vortex when suddenly the console phone began to ring. He picked up the phone and as he began to speak, he was quickly interrupted.

"Doctor. It's Jack."

"Ah yes, Jack! Of course! To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"You need to go 1439 Tenochtitlan now."

"Why? Jack, what's going on?" He could hear urgency in Jack's voice, but couldn't tell if it was a positive or negative thing.

"Bad Wolf."

The Doctor immediately stopped fidgeting with the console, "What?"

"Doctor, you need to go."

"It's impossible."

"When is anything ever impossible with Rose?"  
"It's just a coincidence, it can't mean anything." The Doctor's voice was soft; he was trying to keep himself from being hopeful. Those were two common words; they had to appear throughout time without it being connected to Rose.

"It's not. Doctor… I think she's back. It wouldn't be the first time."

"It's different now, she… I left her with him, she wouldn't just leave now."

"Don't be so quick to assume. Go. Tenochtitlan. 1439. Now. And when you find her, make sure you bring her by. You're not the only one who misses her."

The line went dead, but the Doctor starred at the phone for a moment longer.

"Rose is back. Rose is back!" He shouted gleefully to the TARDIS. The TARDIS hummed happily in reply. Laughing, the Doctors set the coordinates, "Just this once, just this one time, please let me have this! Please, Rose, let me have this!"

The TARDIS began to materialize in Tenochtitlan as the Doctor's joy began to subside. "I have no date. I don't know when. Just a year. That's not a lot of time, but yet so much. She could be anywhere, anytime." His fist came down hard on the console and the TARDIS gave an annoyed hum back to him. "You share a connection with her. Do you feel her? Did you bring me to her?" He could feel the TARDIS nudging at his mind to exit the TARDIS. Holding his breath, the Doctor opened the TARDIS doors.


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and looked around. The TARDIS landed outside of the city and in the dense forest surrounding the area. For a forest, it was unusually quite. No animals could be heard; even the wind seemed to have stilled in the trees.

"Rose!" He called out, the silence beginning to unnerve him. He pulled out his screwdriver and began to scan the area when a scream pierced through the forest. Turning off the screwdriver, he ran frantically towards the source of the pitiful noise, but the screaming had cease and he lost the path.

"Rose!" Once again there was no reply; the entire forest fell back into a deep silence. Pulling out the sonic once more, the Doctor scanned the area and was greeted by the same howling.

"Who are you? Where are you?" The Doctor shouted into the forest, continuing to follow the noise without turning off the sonic. Nothing was registering on the sonic, but something must be the cause of the wailing.

"Stop! It hurts!" An agonized voice called to him. Registering that the sonic was causing whoever or whatever it was pain, he flipped off the sonic. However, this time whimpers in the forest remained, and the Doctor followed the noise to find a young Nahuatl girl doubled over in pain and clutching her head. Tears streamed down her face as her fingernails dug into her hairline.

"Hey, hey, don't do that now," The Doctor knelt down and pulled the girls hands away from her face. She kept her eyes close, her face tense and continued to cry. "I want to help you. I'm the Doctor. Let me help you."

The girl's eyes shot open, "Doctor?"

"Yes, that's right. Here, let me just-" He pulled out the sonic and waved it over her body. The moment it turned on, she clutched her head again and let out a wail.

The reading from the sonic came back undecipherable. She was clearly human and very sick, but there was something else as well. "Huon particles. How can you have that? You shouldn't be in contact with that. Who are you?"

"Doctor, please, not again. It hurts! It makes everything hurt more!" The young girl whimpered.

"What hurts? Tell me, make me understand."

"Everything!" The girls voice raised an octave, "In me! In me! It hurts in me! My head! All of it! She told me not to be afraid, but I'm scared!"

"Who told you?"

The girl whimpered and held her head again.

"Who told you not to be afraid? Did someone cause this?"

"In my head, I hear her in my head. She says not to be afraid. She says she will make me better. She says don't be afraid of the bad wolf."

The Doctor's breath caught in his throat. "The what?"

"Doctor!" The girl cried out and her breath quickened "No, no, no! I can't do it! I can't do it! Please it hurts! It hurts!" Suddenly, the girl's body went limp and her breath was shallow.

The Doctor watched as the girl lost consciousness. He quickly picked her small frame up and carried her back to the TARDIS as quickly as he could. "I'm going to help you, don't worry, don't be afraid. I'm going to help you."

The trip with the girl back to the TARDIS seemed longer than it ought to. In the back of his mind, the girl's bad wolf comment floated about.

_Rose has been here. She had to have been. But she would never hurt this girl, would she? No. But what do I really know about Rose after all this time? Maybe she's changed. No, not Rose. This wouldn't be Rose. It couldn't be Rose. Not Rose. But this girl knows Rose. She has to. _Thoughts raced around his mind and the girl showed no sign of recovery. The TARDIS came into sight and the Doctor shifted the weight of the girl so that he could open the TARDIS doors.

He barely made it into the console room when the girl quickly drew in a breath and opened her eyes. The brown of her eyes had gone, and it was quickly replaced with a floating gold.

"Hello, old girl." The ethereal voice left the girls mouth.

The Doctor froze and let the girl out of his arms. "Who are you?"

She walked to the console and ran her hands across it, "I've missed you."

The TARDIS let out a tired hum and quickly began to lose power.

"What are you doing? What are you!?" The Doctor shouted at the girl, who did nothing but turn to him with a sad smile.

"Oh, Time Lord. Don't tell me you've forgotten me."

The Doctor whipped out the sonic and began to scan her, causing her to bring her hands once more to her head.

"No! I told you no!" The girl reached out towards the sonic and it shattered. The remains of the screwdriver fell to the TARDIS grating, leaving the Doctor holding just a nub of what was his beloved screwdriver.

"I'm so sorry, I really am. I told you already, it hurts me. It interferes with me. I can't have that. Not now."

"What have you done to the girl? What have you done to my TARDIS!?"

"Nothing! Everything will be as good as new. Just a moment now." Energy began to glow around the girl and the Doctor began to feel foggy.

"Time Lord, go to sleep."

And he did.


	3. Chapter 3

The Doctor opened his eyes. The TARDIS wasn't lit but he could still make out his surroundings. The girl from the forest laid in the console room unconscious. Next to her sat another woman, who gently stroked the girl's hair. Not believing his eyes at first the Doctor moved closer and the woman stopped stroking the girl's hair.

"Rose?" The Doctor whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear himself.

The woman's head snapped up. Rose Tyler's face stared back at the Doctor. "Rose Tyler is dead."

"No, no, that can't be. She can't be!"

Rose stood up, the lights in the TARDIS came back on and the TARDIS slowly started to hum again. She looked down softly at the resting girl on the floor. "Quetzal. That's her name by the way."

The Doctor's eyes became cold and harsh as he watched Rose. Or the being impersonating her that is. Rose Tyler was dead; he was just told so and has no evidence to the contrary no matter how hard he wishes it weren't true. "What are you?"

"Time Lord, don't tell me you've forgotten me." The gold in the woman's eyes began to swirl.

"What do you mean? What is your name?" The Doctor angrily shouted at her "Tell me what you are!"

"Time Lord-"

"Stop calling me that!" He reached out to grab the woman but she quickly backed away.

"Don't touch me, not right now. I'm not stable; I haven't found my equilibrium yet. I could hurt you. Please, I don't want to hurt you, Doctor."

"Last time. Tell. Me. What are you and why are you using Rose Tyler's body?" The Doctor's words were harsh and raged.

"I'm not afraid of you, Time Lord. You threats mean nothing to me. We will do this on my time, or on no time at all. I can only explain so much to you and your mind can only comprehend so much. But I know that right now you have no plan, you have no weapon. What exactly are you threatening me with? You're very clever, I'll give you that, but still no threat to me."

The Doctor glared at her intensely, but said nothing.

"I've been known by many times and I will be known by many more. You've met me by two: Bad Wolf and Rose Tyler."

The Doctor opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly shut down by her raising her hand.

"Before you start, I know what you are going to say. I'm not from your world. I'm not from your universe, your dimension. I exist outside of this realm. When you encountered me as Bad Wolf for the first time, it was the first time I directly interacted with you. I saw Rose in your past. When I told you that I create myself, I meant that very literally. I created Rose for you, Doctor."

"No. No you couldn't have. Rose was human-"

"Where do you think humans came from, Time Lord?"

"But I knew her. I knew had already met her before she consumed the Time Vortex!"

"Time is-how did you put it-very wibbly wobbly. Actually it's more than that. You always accuse humans as viewing time to linearly. You aren't exactly correct on your view of time either, Time Lord. The Time War affected me too, and I was afraid. I needed to go into hiding. More importantly, my valiant Time Lord was in danger." She averted her eyes and gave a small smile, "I can't ever let him get into too much trouble, now can I? I became Rose Tyler. I created her. Living nineteen years of human life really is very miniscule when it comes down to it. But don't get me wrong, Rose was real. Rose was very real. Everything Rose every said to you, she meant. Rose loved you. She still does. Don't ever doubt that."

"No, you're wrong. Well, you're right. You are not Rose Tyler. But you never were. I took the vortex out of her. Rose was purely human. She was perfectly human! All pink and yellow, she was human!"

"Why are you so concerned with Rose's humanity?"

"Because it's part of what made Rose all… Rosie. She was compassionate and kind and loving and sweet, brilliant that girl. She could find it in her one heart to see the best in others, even when they couldn't see it in themselves."

"Those are all admirable aspects, but not necessarily human ones. Why must Rose be human for you to accept her?"

"Because she's Rose! That's what she is! I will always accept Rose but she will always be human!" The frustration and anger boiled up in his voice.

Rose raised her hand as if to reach out to touch him, but thought better of it and lowered it again, "So, Doctor, do you not accept me? I'm not human. I'm far from it."

"No. I don't."

"Doctor, I was Rose! Just as much as you were John Smith when you became human yourself."

The Doctor paused and looked at her suspiciously "How do you know about that? If you were Rose, as you claim, you would have been locked in a parallel world. This alone negates that you are Rose."

"I am not Rose now. I can feel it. I can sense when you became human now. My Time Lord-"

"I am not your Time Lord." The Doctor spat out.

"You are just as much my Time Lord as I was your Rose."

"YOU ARE NOT ROSE!"

"Time Lord, I have had it with your temper. You will stop raising your voice with me. Please try to keep up. I am not Rose now, but Rose was me. A square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not a square. Fundamentally, we were the same; albeit there were some differences. I lost my sense of the universe, but I still found my Time Lord."

"I found Rose"

"Because I led you to her. Our Timelines run differently. As I already told you, our first encounter was on satellite five. I had seen your past and before you took the vortex out of Rose, I made sure to create a Rose in the first place. I locked myself into Rose. Why do you think she was not as damaged as any other human would have been when she took in the Time Vortex? Even you had to regenerate. It's because in a sense, the Time Vortex is part of me. It's natural for me to feel it running through me. But other forces can sense it then too. At that point, I needed to hide. There was nothing else quite as perfect as Rose Tyler."

"Why did you have to hide?"

"Now you are asking better questions. More Time-Lordy. I like it." She gave a Rose Tyler smile, the one with her tongue poking out. The Doctor flinched at the gestured and she ignored it. "But as it is, that is a story for a different time. I was Rose up until the day she died in the parallel world, hidden very far away and out of range. Before you panic, she died of old age. She lived a very human life. I lived a very human life. But, I don't want to overstretch your Time Lord mind. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling fine." He glowered.

"That's good, we should be returning Quetzal. She should be healed now."

"What did you do to that poor girl? You damaged her so you could come through to this universe?"

"No, no of course not. She had a brain tumor; it created a hole in her mind in a sense. It created a bridge between the universes. She is a priestess apprentice here and has been in contact with a rift. There's a very small one not too far from here, as I'm sure you know. While you find it of no consequence, it is very sacred to these people. I needed her as a power source, a way of channeling myself through. The space in her mind allowed me to do so. I then repaired her both mentally and physically. When she returns to her community, she will be telling stories of how the Bad Wolf goddess healed her and gave her knowledge of the future. Don't worry; it's nothing of major consequence, just enough to keep them from ostracizing her. She's going to be brilliant."

The Doctor turned his attention away from Rose and to instead to Quetzal. The girl was beginning to come to. He picked up Quetzal and approached the TARDIS doors. "Alright then. Out you go, too." He looked pointedly at Rose.

"Don't trust me here with your TARDIS anymore?"  
"Why should I trust you with her? You arrive here and drain her of power, and now you expect me to allow you to stay alone with her? Oh no, you are exiting the TARDIS."

"You never minded before when I stayed behind. Actually, sometimes you even encouraged it. I would want to go out, but you would want me to stay in because you thought it was safer. Tables have flipped, haven't they? Right then." Rose walked to the TARDIS doors without allowing the Doctor a chance to deliver a rebuttal. "After you, Time Lord."

The Doctor gave a snarl of his lip and carried Quetzal outside. Rose lingered behind him a few paces, allowing him some distance. He gently laid the girl down in the forest and gave her a scan with the sonic. She didn't react to the sonic like she did in the past. The Doctor found that the girl had been healed completely of illness. Pocketing the sonic, he proceeded back to the TARDIS. He noticed that the other woman (bad wolf, rose or whoever she is) was still lingering behind him.

"You're not leaving without me." She began picking up her pace to meet his, following him back to where the TARDIS was parked.

"Well, you are not coming with me. I do not see another option." He refused to make any eye contact with her as he approached the TARDIS.

"Ok." The woman stopped following him and sat down on a nearby rock.

The Doctor stopped short. "Okay?"

"Yeah. Ok. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Yes, I just expected you to put up more of an fight that's all. You most definitely are not Rose."

"Sure, I am. I just know that at this point there is no arguing with you. You'll be back for me though. I guarantee it." She crossed her arms over her chest and gave a smirk.

"Yes well, I suppose that means both of us are going to end this day greatly disappointed." He stepped inside the TARDIS without giving her a second look.

_Disappointed?_ The words stung Rose. She had wanted their reunion to be more joyous. While she was not longer human, and thus in a sense she was no longer the Rose he knew, she was still Rose. Everything that made up Rose came from her. She waited patiently for the Time Lord to return out of his TARDIS, knowing that he would be very unhappy once he did.

"What have you done to my TARDIS?!" As expected, a very angry Time Lord stormed out of the TARDIS doors. He got as close as he could without physically touching Rose.

"You're disappointed in me?" Rose looked hurt.

Fighting his impulse to reach out and comfort his Rose, the Doctor tried to focus on standing his ground. "My TARDIS. She won't leave here. Why not?"

"I told you. You're not leaving without me. Your TARDIS and I are connected and for the time being, we need each other for stability. I was able to harness the energy of your TARDIS when I first visited you as Bad Wolf. Now that connection that was established is responsible for helping me return to this universe. Until everything stabiles once more, we are both weak. We need each other. She isn't going anywhere without me; she physically can't."

Rose stood up and made her way into the TARDIS, leaving the Doctor frustrated behind her. "Well then," She turned to him and gave him a tongued smiled, "Allons-y!"


	4. Chapter 4

"No, don't do that."

"Don't do what? Borrow your word or borrow your TARDIS?" Rose approached the TARDIS controls and began to set coordinates, which the Doctor recognized to be for early 21st century Cardiff.

The Doctor approached her from behind and watched her curiously. While he was still frustrated with his situation, there was something even more compelling about watching Rose operate his TARDIS. "Where did you learn to do that?" He asked her as the TARDIS began to dematerialize.  
"Hmm?" The Doctor's inquiry pulled Rose out of her focus. "Oh it's not that difficult to figure out. She's very easy to work with if you just ask her nicely." Rose gave the TARDIS console a pat and the TARDIS gave a pleased hum.

The Doctor silently starred at her. Rose, or whatever she was now, made him feel vastly uncomfortable. He couldn't get a feel of timelines around her, for starters, but more importantly he couldn't get a feel for this new being. She looked like Rose, had Rose's memories, and for the most part, her personality and mannerisms. Still, there was something about her very not-Rose. The way she carried herself was slightly different and the way she spoke seemed to bounce between human Rose and this—other Rose. He still had no category or name to call her. If he could refrain from it, he wouldn't like to call her Bad Wolf, even if that may be closer to what she is. Calling her Rose didn't feel right either.

"So, what do I call you?" The Doctor's facial expression softened a bit but his body still remained tense.

She gave an uneasy smile, "What do you mean? You call me what you've always called me."

The Doctor wordlessly starred at her.

Rose blinked and a sinking feeling went to her stomach. "Rose. You call me Rose."

He could hear the hurt in her voice but he still said nothing to her. The TARDIS began to materialize at Torchwood Cardiff and Rose took in a deep breath. When she exhaled, she put on the best smile she could manage but it still didn't quite meet her eyes.

"Alright, come on then! It's always good to see Jack, yeah? You still keep in touch?" When he gave no answer, she sighed. "Don't tell me cat's got your tongue now. You used to never stop your chatter and now I can't seem to get anything out of you. Was finding me really that awful?"

"You're not her." He voice was cold and emotionless. The anger that was present before was now gone from his voice but the lack of emotion at all was worse.

Rose could feel the knot in her stomach tighten and she turned away from him. "The TARDIS needs to spend some time here near this rift. The small one in Mexico was closing so she couldn't have gotten what she needed there anyways. You might as well join us."

Rose opened the TARDIS door and saw Jack standing across the way with a woman she recognized as Gwen Cooper. The knot in her stomach dissolved as she saw his face. She immediately ran to him and wrapped her arms around him and he enthusiastically returned the greeting.

"Rose! It's great to see you again! I never thought I would see the day!" He gave her a tight squeeze.

"Oh, Jack!" Rose gave a chuckle, "Shouldn't you have learned already that I just can't seem to stay away from here?"

"Well I don't know if I would say 'here' per say. More like you can't stay away from him." Jack gestured with his head towards the TARDIS. "Speaking of which, where is the Doctor anyways?"

Rose released Jack from the embrace and stepped back. Jack noticed her facial expression immediately changed.

"Rose, what's wrong? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, yeah he's fine. He's in the TARDIS, probably just tinkering and all. The TARDIS helped me get back through to this universe and she's mostly drained now. Other than that, she's fine."

"Rose, he shouldn't be 'fine'. He should be much more than fine. When he left here, well, it was the happiest I've seen him in a long time. Are you okay? Are you hurt?"  
"No, I'm perfectly fine. I'm just… not what he was expecting is all. It will be okay."

"Tell him." Rose and Jack turned their attention to the man now standing in the doorway of the TARDIS. The Doctor was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. No readable expression was on his face.

"Doctor, tell me what?" Jack glanced back at Rose's face, which had donned a pained expression.

The Doctor ignored Jack and looked directly at Rose. "Go on. Tell him."

Rose took a deep breath and look at Jack. "I'm not exactly human, Jack. I never was. I mean, I was, but before that… I wasn't. I created human Rose after I ended the time war on Satellite Five. I see time much differently than you do. Actually, it's more accurate to say I see the entire universe much differently than you do."

"Wait, wait." Jack held his hand up to cut off Rose. "What do you mean after?"

"I see time much differently than you do. Actually, it's more accurate to say I see the entire universe much differently than you do. I'm not exactly from this universe. Not even this… dimension, per say. I exist outside of it. I created much of it and maintain it."

"You created it? So… what are you some kind of god or something?" Jack half mocked with a half smile. His expression sobered, "I'm just trying to make some type of sense of this, Rose."

"Think of this universe as a… tree. This universe that we are in now is actually like the trunk of the tree, which is why I had to return here. It is the main source but bears no fruit itself. Now, all parallel universes are like the branches and some branches even branch off into more branches. Those branches bear leaves and fruit. Think of leaves right now as energy and fruit as… well a currency of sorts. Now we are not talking about literal fruits and leaves, mind you, but you get the idea. Now for a healthy tree that bears foliage, you must have a healthy trunk. Think of me as an arborist. I care for this tree in particular. There are others but I suppose you can say I am one of the more… hands on kind of arborist. I don't know, does that make any sense? I'm really trying here."

"Yeah, I mean I suppose it does in a way." Gwen Cooper, who had been silently watching and taking in the interaction, spoke up.

As if just recognizing her for the first time, Rose's eyes lit up with joy, "Gwen! Oh, I am so sorry! How rude of me. Thank you. I hope I didn't frighten you. You just lived your entire life so close to the rift and have been affected by it. Very minimally, mind you, but enough that it was easier for me to communicate with you than others. Also, I knew you would be able to get in touch with Jack and then the Doctor. So thank you."

Gwen smiled "I'm very glad I could help, Rose."

Rose returned her attention to Jack, "When I was human and I found out about what I did to you, I was overrun with guilt. But I want you to know that I did it for a reason. You are so important, Jack. And very important to me personally as well." She gave him a warm smile, "You know, you were the second person I was able to touch coming back. First was the young girl who helped me get through but since I was already… within her in a sense, I knew it wouldn't harm her from contact." Rose's smile turned slightly sheepish, "I actually didn't know what would happen when I embraced you. I didn't want to touch anyone who I may kill or regenerate." She glanced back at the Doctor.

The Doctor remained leaning against the TARDIS doors. His expression was much softer than it had been before but his arms remained crossed.

"Rose, I'm not saying I entirely understand this, but you're still my friend, you're still Rose. I'll help in anyway I can." Jack reached out to put his hand on her shoulder, but Rose pulled him into a hug instead.

"Thank you," she whispered to him. "You have no idea how much that means to me. I really am still Rose. Thank you so much for seeing it."

A door closed roughly and they pulled away to look at the source of the noise. The Doctor was no longer standing in the doorway and the TARDIS doors were now shut.

Rose's eyes were filled with hurt but she still managed a small smile for her friend. "Jack, do you think he'll ever forgive me? Forgive me for no longer being her? I am the same, but in a lot of ways I'm not."

Gwen, beginning to feel uncomfortable about the closeness between Rose and Jack that she was not a part of left the room to give them some space.

"Oh, Rose, it's ok. He'll see it. He'll come around. The TARDIS is still here, so he's not leaving you."

Rose gave a slight chuckle, "Yeah, that's only because he can't. The TARDIS helped pull me back into this universe and used up a lot of energy herself. She needs to stay here for a little while by the rift. That's all right isn't it? I suppose I should have made sure before I parked her in the middle of the hub."

"You brought her here? Since when did you know how to fly the TARDIS?"

"She helped me for the most part, but I know this universe inside and out. Give me a little bit of credit, Jack. My navigation skills were never that bad!" She nudged his shoulder and he smiled.

"You got her here in good time too, well done!" Jack once more became serious, "but Rose, just give him some time. He never got over losing you."

"I know. He lost a lot when he left me in the parallel universe with the other Doctor, but it was the best gift that he could have given me. It hurt so much at first; I didn't understand it. They really were the same man though, Jack. In many ways, I created human Rose for him. To give me a part-human Doctor to finish my time as a human with was brilliant. We were so happy together, Jack. It may not have been perfect all the time but it worked for us. I had trouble with the time lines getting back here. I tried to get here close to when he left us in the parallel world, but I didn't get here as early as I would've liked. I know it must have been hurting him. While I don't regret my time in the parallel universe with the other Doctor, I do regret that I caused this one pain."

"Why don't you tell him that, Rose."

"I intend to. I just have to get him to listen to me. I don't know if he will ever forgive me."

"Rose, of course he will. Just give him time. If there's one thing I know, it's that the Doctor needs his Rose."

Rose smiled at that, "I need him too. He really is very important to me. The Time Lords for a long time were very valuable to this universe. They are unique. The Doctor in particular I've always relied on, more than he knows."

"I'd tell you to go to him, but he probably locked us out."

"Ah, that's not a problem. The TARDIS wouldn't keep me out." Rose gave one her of brilliant Rose smiles. "I think she will always let me in."

Walking to the TARDIS doors, Rose gave the door a slight tug and sure enough, the TARDIS opened for her.

Rose looked over her shoulder to Jack, "Thank you. I mean it. For everything that you've already done and everything that you will do." She stepped into the TARDIS, closing the doors once more behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Author's Note:_**_ This was very difficult for me to write, which is partially why it took a bit longer than the other chapters so far. Also... (as much as I REALLY shouldn't admit this...) I didn't proof read *whinces* I just can't bring myself to do it with this chapter because I just want it done. I know, I know, I know! That's awful. I know. But I just couldn't. I just want this chapter done with. That said... I don't think it's that awful, just maybe not the best. Anyways, here it is. __  
_

The hum of the TARDIS greeted Rose happily as she entered the console room. Rose smiled and patted the wall of the TARDIS, "Where has he gone off to now?" The TARDIS gave her no indication of a reply. "Tell me what to do. Help me out here. How do I fix this?" Rose sighed at the lack of response from the TARDIS. She didn't really know what she was expecting from her, but really anything was better than nothing at this point.

Rose began to wander aimlessly through the halls of the TARDIS. Many rooms were different than before but there was one that was remarkably the same. With a smile, Rose pushed open the familiar door. Inside, she found that it was completely preserved. Nothing had been moved, not even the scattered clothes on the floor. A towel was tossed over a chair and the bed was left unmade, expecting someone to sleep in it again. Rose regarded the room with reverie. Smiling, she threw herself on her old bed.

The Doctor sat on the floor and leaned against the wall of one of the old storage rooms on the ship. It wasn't one he had used in a while but still couldn't quite bring himself to rid the room of all the knickknacks, tools and other various items he had accumulated over the years.

The TARDIS nudged at the edge of his mind, trying to communicate with him. "Knock it off," The Doctor said, exasperated. The TARDIS flickered the lights in the room. "Alright, alright, what is it?!" The Doctor groaned. He had gone to the old room to be left alone.

The TARDIS flashed an image of Rose currently on the bed in her old bedroom. "Great, thanks." He muttered as a reply. He could feel the TARDIS urging him to go to her, but he ignored it.

_"How long are you going to stay with me?" "Forever."_

The memory rushed back to him by the TARDIS's prompting. He sighed and starred at the ceiling. He looked down to see that the TARDIS had placed an open book next to him.

"_What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet."_

"Romeo and Juliet, really?" he scoffed at the TARDIS, but still he picked up the copy of the Shakespeare book and reread the words over and over again. The TARDIS gave a pleased hum and pushed the image of Rose in the old bedroom into his mind again.

"She may not be Rose Tyler, but she still is Rose Tyler, isn't she?" The Doctor muttered to himself, and the TARDIS gave a pleased hum again.

"Still Rose. Just not Rose." This time, the TARDIS gave an annoyed hum to indicate she had decided this revelation of his was already old news.

The Doctor stood up and straightened out his jacket. With a deep breath, he left his temporary sanctuary of the storage closet and headed towards Rose's room.

Outside of her door, he could hear her speaking within the room. "Rose?" He knocked on the door tentatively. He could hear Rose continue to talk but nothing directed to him.

"Let me back through!" Rose screamed. The Doctor didn't wait for her permission to open her door. He pushed it open to find a very distraught Rose lying on her bed. The palms of her hands were pressed to her eyes and her whole body was tense.

"Rose, what's the matter?"

"What is your problem, let me back through! After all I've done, how dare you tell me that I've betrayed you. How dare you tell me that I'm not loyal? If anything, I'm the only one who is loyal! I protected this universe! I did what I had to do!" Rose removed her hands from her eyes, only to slam them down on the bed.

The Doctor could see gold swirling in her eyes as she continued to address someone he could not see.

Rose paused in her rant. She seemed to be to be listening to someone else and her face began to grow angrier. "I don't give a damn if my ways are 'unconventional'. I will do what I have to in order to protect my own." She paused once more. "Deserting? How can that possibly be considered deserting? I was still here! I was a bit different, but I sure as hell was still protecting this universe! I had to keep myself safe at the same time-Don't you bring the Time Lords into this!" Rose's voice dramatically increased in volume.

The Doctor, watching cautiously, was taken aback by Rose's words. He worked out that she was communicating with someone from her dimension and the mention of his people came as a surprise to him.

"They did their job. They may not have been perfect, but how could they have been? Even their gods are imperfect; look at yourselves! You made them. Now, let me back through! Nothing is stopping me from tearing this universe bit to bit. You may not actively care about it, but you need it. I know you do. What's stopping me from making it burn?"

Rose's body began to give off a gold aura matching that of her eyes. She clenched and unclenched her fists repetitively.

"Don't say a word about him! He's done more for you than you will ever realize because you don't pay attention to this universe like you should." The gold aura began to fade around her, no longer carrying the intensity it did moments ago. "Yes, I do stand by him and that is my choice. I don't quite care what you think of it. That is no reason to keep me out. You'll want me back! You'll need me back!" The gold suddenly left Rose's eyes and she sat up on the bed. She looked exhausted and lost.

"Rose." The Doctor, who had been anxious by her bedside, breathily said her name. He sat down next to her on the bed. For the first time since she had made it back through to this universe, he wrapped his arms tightly around her and she buried her face in his shoulder.

"I can't go back. I-I can't go back." Her voice was so hopeless and small that the Doctor forgot all his doubts about her for a moment; all he could see was his pink and yellow Rose.

"I'm sorry, Rose. I really am so sorry."

"They wouldn't let me through. When I tried to connect with them mentally they blocked it. They're shunning me. They are actually trapping me here. I had to speak with them, Doctor. I mean speak! I couldn't feel them telepathically anymore. No one would open up the passage way on the other side."

"You tried to leave?" The Doctor pulled away from her and looked her in the eyes.

Rose could hear the pain in his voice and she winced. "Yes, but I would have come back. I'd have come back for you. You needed your space and I wanted to see what had changed there during my time as a human. I'd never completely leave you. That's apparently one of my faults. 'Too attached to that universe's life. Too attached to that Time Lord.'" Rose spat out. "They fault me on caring. My direct interventions are too unconventional for them. But it works! It keeps this multiverse healthy and right. How can they fault me on that?"

Rose suddenly felt so empty. "I can't see it all, Doctor, all of space and time or the multiverse and the endless possibilities. I can't feel it like I did. They're cutting me off! I still see some of it, but not all of it like before. It's numbing."

The Doctor grabbed Rose tightly by her shoulders. "Rose, trust me. I know. I know what it feels like. But you're okay. You'll be okay. You'll learn how to survive it. I know you will." The Doctor's grip on her lessened and he gave her a slight smile. "After all, I thought being stuck with me wasn't that bad?"

Tears fell from Roses' eyes, but she smiled up at the Doctor. She gave a slight laugh and a nod, "Yeah, s'not so bad."

"I just need some time getting use to this, Rose. But I've decided I want to. I want to know this part of you as well. If you'll let me."

Rose wiped the few tears off of her face and her smile widened. "Of course. Yes, of course I'll let you."


End file.
